15 August 2018
Photo scoopdyga.com
Enable (Nathaniel), the 2017 winner of the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Gr1), is to bypass next week’s York Meeting. Instead, with her Arc title defence very much in mind, connections have instead opted to aim her at the September Stakes (Gr3), on the Kempton Park polytrack, on September 8th. Sidelined by a knee problem since May, the filly has yet to be seen in public this year. John Gosden has used the September Stakes in the past as a conduit to tackling the autumn Gr1 prizes. Indeed, Jack Hobbs made a successful return in the same Gr3 prize en route to finishing third in the Champion Stakes (Gr1). Teddy Grimthorpe, the racing manager of Prince Khalid Abdullah, said : “She will not go to York next week, and I would think she will go to Kempton. It was always going to be a big ask to get to York, but it would be silly to push her and we will give her one run before going to the Arc. She'll need to have a run, but I would think that would set her up very nicely. She's got to to keep on going the right way, but it looks a good starting point for her. A racecourse gallop is always a possibility, but we haven't got there yet and there are a number of places we could go.”